Conor McGregor is preparing to attend the blockbuster ‘Day of Reckoning’ boxing event in Saudi Arabia headlined by Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua.
Saturday night’s card is one of the most star-studded in recent memory, with a raft of top heavyweights preparing to do battle in Riyadh as the Kingdom continues its bombastic expansion into investing in boxing matches.
Wilder and Joshua will be appearing on the same card but the long-term rivals will not be fighting one another – instead, Joshua will face off with Otto Wallin, and Wilder will be expected to stop Joseph Parker.
Should both leading heavyweights win their bouts, the result could set up a box-office return to the Gulf state to finally meet in the ring to decide who emerges as the WBC mandatory world heavyweight champion challenger.
Lower down the card, Jarrell Miller will do battle with Daniel Dubois after a feisty final meeting at the weigh-in on Friday evening, Dmitry Bivol will meet Lyndon Arthur, Jei Opetaia will fight Ellis Zorro, and Agit Kabayel will attempte to survive Arslanbek Makhmudov.
Conor McGregor will take in the blockbuster ‘Day of Reckoning’ ring-side in Saudi Arabia
Topping the card is Anthony Joshua (left) who will face off with Otto Wallin on Saturday night
The MMA star previously travelled to Saudi to watch Tyson Fury beat Francis Ngannou
The MMA star will be in the Kingdom to take in the action, as McGregor confirmed to his supporters via social media.
‘See you there (Chairman of General Authority for Entertainment Turki AlAlShikh)!’ McGregor tweeted.
‘Thank you for my invite once again to the Kingdom, I cannot wait! (Saudi flag emoji, crown emoji)’.
A host of big names from the world of combat sports are expected to be in attendance for the banner fight, after boxing legends including Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, and Mike Tyson turned up to watch Francis Ngannou go the distance against Tyson Fury in late October.
McGregor was in attendance at the ‘Battle of the Baddest’ to watch Fury narrowly swipe the result, after first attending a ‘World Champions Lunch’ the day before the contest.
After the fight, McGregor offered his verdict on his former colleague Ngannou and the ex-double world champion was effusive in his praise.
‘Jesus, Ngannou is a powerful boy as well,’ McGregor said. ‘Tyson couldn’t hold him.
‘He was just missing with that backhand.’
The 35-year-old is preparing for his own return to competition ahead of potentially stepping into the octagon in 2024.
McGregor posted an excited message to social media on Friday ahead of the banner fight
Chairman of General Authority for Entertainment Turki Alalshikh (centre) is an enormous fan
McGregor is plotting his own return to the octagon in 2024, but no date has been confirmed
McGregor suffered a horror leg break in his shin back in 2021 in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in Las Vegas, a rivalry seven years in the making having first met in 2014.
However the fight didn’t make it past round one, with Notorious winding back for a punch but seemingly putting too much weight on his left leg, his Tibia snapping as a result.
There has been significant speculation about when he would return, with McGregor having agreed to take on American star Michael Chandler in a UFC bout, but a date is still to be confirmed.
McGregor has 22 wins from 28 MMA bouts, while he also took part in one professional boxing match when he lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr in 2017.
ncG1vNJzZmhqZGy7psPSmqmorZ6Zwamx1qippZxemLyue82erqxnoKS%2Fr3nSrZirZZGntqJ5y56cZquVp8OqusZmmKxln6y7brjAsLCeql2eu259j6ZkpZmnqMKqwI4%3D